Rolando Maran's first list also brings two new names for the Albanian National Team: Sabah Kerjota and Samuele Sina. Two players with completely different profiles, but with one common element: both have come to the attention of the red and black staff through their appearances in Italian and British football.
Sabah Kerjota, from Serie D to the Edinburgh derby
Sabah Kerjota is one of Maran's new signings for the Albanian national team. The 25-year-old from Shkodra plays as a winger for Hearts in the Scottish Premier League, but his journey to the elite has been gradual. Formed at Vllaznia, Kerjota left for Italy in 2018, where he played for several lower-tier clubs. At Clitunno he exploded with 15 goals in 22 games, while later moving to Ancona, Montefano and Vigor Senigallia.
The 2022-23 season would be a turning point: with Vigor Senigallia he scored 9 goals and provided 13 assists, being named the best young player in Serie D. In the summer of 2024 he moved to Sambenedettese, where he scored 10 goals in 36 games and helped the team secure promotion to Serie C. Then came the big step in Scotland. In the 2025-26 season he joined Hearts and became a protagonist in the first Edinburgh derby against Hibernian. Although he had only ten minutes on the field, Kerjota provided the assist for the winning goal in the last minutes. In another match against Hibs, he contributed with two assists in Hearts' 2-1 victory.
Samuele Sina, the 19-year-old who comes from Serie C
Samuele Sina is even younger. The defender, born on February 14, 2007, in Iseo, Italy, is 1.89 meters tall and plays primarily as a central defender. He currently plays for Union Brescia in Serie C, where he wears the number 95 shirt. Sina spent most of his youth career in Italy, playing for the academies of Union Brescia and FeralpiSalò. In the 2025-26 season, he was loaned to Ospitaletto, where he gained experience in Primavera 2, before returning to Union Brescia for the new season.
Although only 19 years old, Sina has already started to get minutes in professional football. At the start of the 2026-27 season he has registered three appearances in Serie C and scored two goals, while in the 1-0 victory over Pergolettese on August 30 he played 90 minutes and scored a goal in the 99th minute. His connection with Albania is not new: Sina has represented the U17 and U19 national teams, while the call-up by Maran represents the next step towards the national team A.
Two profiles, two stories
Kerjota and Sina don't have much in common in how they got here. Kerjota is 25 and spent years in lower-division Italian football before earning a place in a higher-level league in Scotland. Sina, by contrast, is 19 and is climbing the ladder much more quickly, from academy to professional football and now to the senior national team.
One is a winger who offers speed, assists and contribution in the offensive phase; the other is a young, physically complete center-back with the ability to also play as a right-back in a three-man formation.
It is precisely these two stories that make their first call from Marani interesting: Kerjota comes after a long climb to the top level, while Sina is taking advantage of a rapid explosion in professional football to move to another level of his career.
